Classroom time is a precious commodity: so many minutes for settling in, writing poetry or solving math problems, scanning the chemistry text, or discussing an ethical dilemma.
Many of these activities can be enhanced by the aid of a computer, but why bother if the lesson and learning takes place just fine without it? And often the machine adds a level of frustration.
Why have a screen "lens" between a child and reality? There are already lots of screens in a child's day, television, cellphones for example. A computer screen filters out the acrid inhale of a science experiment and the scratchy feel of quill on parchment. It reduces a warm summer day to a flat live-streamed facsimile; and the spiritual resonance a live loon to a mechanical replication.
We have a myriad of teaching strategies; integrating online computers into a class is just one of them.
When exactly is the computer the perfect tool for learning?
When is the computer a hindrance to learning?
What the BC Ministry of Education says.
...................................................................................................
